As COVID wave rages in Nepal, hospitals run out of beds, oxygen

Nepal registers record numbers of infections and deaths as a second wave sweeps the Himalayan nation of 30 million.

Kathmandu, Nepal – The Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu, is packed – so packed that in many cases two patients share one bed – as a second COVID-19 wave overwhelms the country’s health infrastructure. Health experts and front-line medical workers have described the situation as “near-apocalyptic” as they face shortages of hospital beds and oxygen, the national vaccination campaign grinds almost to a halt and the numbers of dead are so high that mass cremations are being held. “We have been treating patients in every corner of the hospital premises. We are even using the garage to admit as many patients as possible,” said Beli Poudel, a nurse at Sukraraj.